Berkshire holds first 'Woodstock for Capitalists' after Buffett's departure: online

Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, known as "Woodstock for Capitalists," has begun in Omaha. For the first time in 60 years, the event is held not by Warren Buffett, but by Greg Abel, who took over as CEO this year. The most important things from the meeting are in Oninvest's online broadcast.

19.20 CET: Warren Buffett says in an interview with CNBC that the current investment environment is far from ideal for spending Berkshire's savings. He cites high prices in the market as the main deterrent. When is the right time to buy? When "no one else will pick up the phone," Buffett replies.

He's also pleased that Jerome Powell plans to stay on as Fed governor after he steps down as chairman. "I'll be better off when he's around than when he's not," Buffett said.

18.46 CET: Why is Berkshire Hathaway in no hurry to spend its accumulated cash? Here's how Abel explains it: it's not a lack of attractive companies, the problem is price.

"It's not that we don't see outstanding companies today that we would like to own. But the price relative to the opportunity, the economic prospects of that company and the risks involved do not suit us to acquire those companies at that price," Abel said(quoted by MarketWatch).

18.30 CET: A T-shirt with Buffett's name and number 60 is hung from the ceiling of the arena to honor the years of work of the "Oracle of Omaha" at the head of the company. The tradition of displaying a T-shirt under the vaults of the arena is considered the highest honor in sports and a sign of recognition, CNBC noted. Charlie Munger's jersey with the number "45" - commemorating the years the late investor devoted to the company - is placed nearby. "These T-shirts will hang under the vaults for years to come," Abel said.

18.25 CET: Abel confirmed that Berkshire Hathaway remains committed to the principles laid down by Buffett. Financial independence, flexibility in capital allocation, tax efficiency and holding reserves in US Treasuries are the company's priorities. Separately, Abel warned against arrogance, bureaucracy and complacency, which, according to him, can destroy any company.

Speaking about Berkshire's uniqueness, he highlights the flexibility in capital management: the company is free to reallocate funds between assets or keep them in a cache depending on the market situation.

18.21 CET: Berkshire's new CEO has outlined his approach to managing the company's equity portfolio. The portfolio is based on the so-called big four: Apple, American Express, Moody's and Coca-Cola, as well as stakes in Japanese trading houses. Among other significant positions, Abel singled out Bank of America, Chevron and Alphabet, whose shares Berkshire bought for about $4 billion in 2025.
Abel says he intends to actively manage the portfolio - increasing or decreasing positions as needed - and work closely with Buffett on investment matters.

17.38 CET: The Q&A session opens with a video of Warren Buffett in a suit. "Hi, my name is Warren, I'm from Omaha," he introduces himself. - Greg, I've been following the company for a long time. I'm 95 years old. I've got time and a cherry Coke. And I want to know - just so I have something to say to my fellow shareholders - why should they hold Berkshire stock long-term?"

It's not the real Buffett - the video is AI-generated without any input from the real "Oracle of Omaha," Abel says. Cyber risk is a serious and ongoing threat to Berkshire, he says.

When asked why investors should hold Berkshire stock, Abel says the company has flexibility because of its huge cash cushion. "We don't intend to be dependent on anyone," Abel says.

17.10 CET: New CEO Greg Abel speaks from the stage. Berkshire is taking a cautious approach to the use and management of artificial intelligence, he says. "It has to be complementary to our business," Abel said. - We're not implementing AI for AI's sake."

According to Abel, Berkshire will apply AI in a narrow, clearly delineated format focused on creating real value. He also noted that the conglomerate is mindful of the risks this technology poses to "humanity."

16.40 CET: The queue for the CHI arena in downtown Omaha, where the meeting is being held, has been lined up since early morning, Reuters writes. Two shareholders said they arrived at 2 or 3am. Still, there were several thousand empty seats in the 18,000-seat auditorium when the meeting began - a marked difference from meetings in previous years where Buffett presided, Reuters notes.

16.30 CET: CNBC reports that actor Bill Murray is attending the meeting. It turns out he is a longtime Berkshire investor. "I first came here after meeting Warren [Buffett] and I really enjoyed it," he said.

16.16 CET: Warren Buffett, 95, has taken a front row seat to a standing ovation, CNBC reports. Exactly one year ago, Buffett announced at the shareholders' meeting that he would hand over the CEO position to Abel and himself would remain only chairman of the board. "We couldn't have made a better decision," he said at the start of the meeting. - It has been 100 percent successful. He does everything I do and more. He is the right person for the job."

16.06 NET: Berkshire shares have fallen 5.9% since the beginning of the year. By comparison, the main index of the U.S. stock market S&P 500 has grown by almost 6%. Against the background of falling quotations, Berkshire in March resumed share buybacks for the first time since 2024. By the end of the first quarter, the company had repurchased $234.2 million worth of shares.

16.00 CET: Ahead of the meeting, Berkshire Hathaway released its first quarter report. It shows that the company sold more shares than it bought at the beginning of the year. Purchases totaled $15.9 billion and sales totaled $24 billion, the largest quarterly sales for Berkshire since 2024, when the company sold a significant portion of its stake in Apple, writes the Financial Times.

Berkshire Hathaway has remained a net seller of stock for 14 consecutive quarters. Its cash cushion now exceeds $380 billion.

15.54 CET: Berkshire's net income more than doubled year-on-year to $10.1 billion. Berkshire's preferred measure of profitability - operating profit from hundreds of subsidiaries - rose 18% year-on-year to $11.3 billion.

15.45 CET: According to the meeting schedule, Berkshire's new CEO will talk about the company for an hour. Buffett and the late vice chairman Charlie Munger could spend as much as five hours talking to investors, Reuters reported.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor